Anti-money laundering committee to undergo training to enhance administrative capacity

The Attorney General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Legal Affairs’Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Countering-Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/ CPF) National Coordinating Committee (the Committee) held its monthly statutory meeting. The meeting was chaired by Basil Williams, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs. During the meeting, the Committee affirmed that supervisory authorities are duty bound to ensure that all reporting entities become compliant with the AML/CFT/CPF legislation. Effective AML/ CFT/CPF regimes promote financial transparency and encourage the rule of law. In this regard, the Committee maintains that any reporting entity that is operating a business in Guyana must comply with the law.

The Committee therefore, stressed if a licence is required for its operation and they have failed to acquire such licence, they are in breach of the Laws of Guyana. The Committee noted that in an effort to enhance its supervisory capacity, its members must be trained. In this regard, several of its members will soon receive assessor training conducted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in Barbados. The applicants will be trained to conduct a mutual evaluation using the revised Financial Action Task Force recommendations and methodology. In addition, these persons will receive pre-mutual evaluation training which will prepare them to conduct a sectoral review of the legal, financial and regulatory framework.

The meeting also discussed Guyana’s recent contribution to the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force Secretariat, the Committee’s preparations to conduct another national risk assessment, the plan to strengthen its regulation of beneficial ownership applications as well as the operationalising of the national strategic plan to prepare Guyana for another round of mutual evaluation by CFATF.

The Committee concluded that a collaborative approach remains an integral aspect for supervision and enforcement of an effective AML/ CFT/CPF regime.

(Kaieteur News)